Bracing means for case ladings



Sept. 8, 1936.

H. SCHROEDER BRACING MEANS FOR CASH LADINGS Filed Oct. 5, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet l guvcnior Hel'befi: Schroeder 11s, 4% UHQHWH Sept. 8,1936. H. SCHROEDER BRACING MEANS FOR CASE LADINGS 2 Shets-Sheet 2 FiledOct. 5, 1955 :1 m: 1 1 for. Herberc Schroeder Patented Sept. 8, 1936UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

My invention relates to bracing means whereby case ladings in cargocarriers, for example in box or refrigerator cars, can be braced andmade secure against shifting, and whereby the bracing 5 means will beself-adjusting for any shifting in the lading during transit, oraccumulating from small spaces left when the car is loaded. The presentinvention is an improvement upon the structure disclosed in my copendingapplication Serial No. 745,217, filed September 24, 1934, now

Patent No. 2,022,325, issued November 26, 1935.

One of the difliculties in the bracing means of my former applicationlay in the fact that the forces developed were so great that cooperating15' wedges, intended to force the parts of the lading apart and holdthem in spaced-apart relation,

had to be so heavy, because of the reliance upon the Weight of a slidingwedge to overcome the friction between the two cooperating wedges, thatthe device became clumsy and diflicult to handle, both in respect to thewedges themselves and with respect to the brace members as a whole,which have to be moved into overhead racks when not in use. It istherefore one of the objects of the 25 present invention to devise suchbrace means, including cooperating wedges, which may be constructed morelightly, and which will not rely on the weight of a sliding wedge tohold it in position, but which instead is provided with positively 30locking means which will permit the sliding wedge to move downward, butwill positively prevent its upward movement in response to pressure fromthe lading.

It is a further object to provide such locking 35 means which will takeup small increments of movement, such as will occur during weaving ofthe car in transit, and will hold, these small increments againstaccidental reverse movement of the wedge, yet which can be releasedreadily 40 when desired.

It is a further object to provide means to release the various wedgemembers, which may be conveniently operated from a point just inside thedoor of the car, and which will not require reach- 45 ing into thecenter of the car to release a wedge. Furthermore, it is an object toprovide means for releasing the wedges whereby each pair of wedges, ortwo connected pairs, may be released independently of all others.

50 A further difficulty that developed in the use of the bracing meansof my former application was that if the wedges held against retrogrademovement, the pressure from the lading was sometimes suficiently greatto force the brace 55 means as a whole upward away from the floor, andit is an object of the present invention to compensate for any tendencyto move the bracing means as a whole upwardly, by introducing a tendencyto move each bracing means down- 60 wardly, so that neither one of thetwo cooperating bracing means can be moved upwardly away from contactwith the floor.

It is a further object to provide such bracing means and storage racksfor the same, whereby the bracing means can be better moved out of theway when not required, and preferably of such character that the bracingmeans can be moved to the ends of the car, leaving the greater part ofthe cargo space in the center of the car free from any impaired overheadclearance.

It is a further object ,toimprove the, structure mechanically and indetails, all as will appear hereafter. 7

My invention comprises the novel bracing means, the novel rack supportfor the same, and 5 the novel parts and combinations thereof, all asshown in the accompanying drawings, described in this specification, andas will be more particularly defined by the claims which terminate thesame.

In the accompanying drawings I haveshown my invention embodied in arepresentative form as now preferred by me. p I

Figure 1 is a section taken longitudinally of a loaded car, just insidethe near side wall, showing my bracing members in operative position.

Figure 2 is in part an elevation and in part a vertical section throughparts of two cooperating brace members and a pair of cooperating wedges,shown in operative position, and Figure 3 is a similar view showing thewedges during the course of their separation. V

Figure 4 is an enlarged section through the ratchet means andcooperating parts.

Figure 5 is a section, substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 4,illustrating the ratchet means.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a hook forming part of the storage rack, andFigure '7 is a section through the same, on the line 'l---! of Figure 6.

The car illustrated is typical refrigerator car 40 construction. Whilethe bracing means may be incorporated in any type of cargo carrier, itis particularly desirable for use in refrigerator cars for the shipmentof such commodities as eggs in cases, and such a lading is illustrated.Thus the car comprises the floor or deck 90, the grating or false deck9|, the side wall 92 having a center door 93, the roof 9d, and the falseend '95. I Such a car is of a height where it will conveniently takefive tiers of egg cases, illustrated at C and C. These are loaded intothe car so that they abut against each end of thecargo space andsubstantially against each side wall (thoughthe latter is unimportant),and when finally loaded the lading is divided into two parts, C and C,spaced a few inches apart at the center of the car, opposite the doors,The bracing means must lit in this space between the two parts of thelading, yet must be capable of being placed in that position, in part atleast, after the car has been loaded, and when it is desired to unloadthe car the bracing means must be of such character that it can beremoved and placed upon overhead racks, where it is out of the way ofworkmen unloading the car.

As in the former application, I prefer that the bracing means becomposed of frames which essentially are posts, standing verticallyagainst each end of the separated parts of the lading, though forconvenience two such posts may be joined by cross members to constitutea complete bracing member or frame, and preferably, for convenience inhandling, two such frames are provided to contact one part C of thelading, one for each side of the car, cooperating with two other suchframes placed against the spaced part C of the lading. Also forconvenience in handling it is preferable that each post, and hence eachframe, be made of several sections hingedly connected.

Thus the posts are designated l and ID, for convenience indistinguishing them, made in sections hingedly connected at H, and twoor more such posts may be connected by the cross mem-- bers I2. Theposts are preferably of channel shape with the channel, in the operativeposition of the bracing means, facing toward the opposite bracingmember. Each post may be provided with a foot I3 forming a means tosupport the bracing member upon the deck of the car, and in particularto span the spaces between the slats of the grating 9|.

Upon one post, for example the post I, is fixed a wedge 2, and slidablymounted upon the complemental post In is a complemental wedge 20. Thewedges 2 and 20, comprising a cooperating pair, are slidable relative toone another, and are of such extent in the direction of the length ofthe car that they will have contact over a considerable area within theextreme limits of the spacing between the two separated parts of thelading. A flange 29 on one wedge of each pair, engages the side of thecomplemental wedge to prevent relative sidewise movement of the twowedges. Preferably for each pair of complemental posts there areprovided two of the fixed wedges 2 inclined in the same direction, withthe complemental slidable wedges 20 on the other post, but it ispreferred that if a fixed wedge 2 be secured to the post I that there bea fixed wedge 2 carried by the complemental post l0, and a slidablewedge 20 carried by the post I, the wedge 2' being inclined in theopposite direction from the wedge or wedges 2. Any tendency initiated bypressure from the lading, and due to reaction between the wedges 2 and20, to move the post I0 upwardly, is thus counteracted by the tendencybetween the wedges 2' and 20 to move the post I 0 downwardly, and thusneither of the posts I or ID is permitted to move upwardly from thefloor.

It is obvious that the wedges 20 or 20 would have to be heavy ifreliance was placed solely upon their weight to overcome friction and tomove them downward, and to prevent their rising again, due to stressesarising during weaving of the lading in transit. Accordingly I preferthat the wedges be made as light as is consistent with proper strength,and that reliance be placed on locking means such as a ratchet device,to prevent the slidable wedges from rising Thus in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5suitable ratchet means are shown. The posts may be provided with guidesI4, and the slidable wedges, 20 for example, may be provided withinturned flanges 21 engageable beneath these guides l4, whereby thesliding wedge may slide lengthwise of the post, that is vertically, whenthe bracing means is in operative position, but may not be separatedfrom the post by lateral movement of the wedge, so that when in thestored position, shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 1, the slidingwedge cannot fall from the rack and hang below the rack. Between theguides M on the posts is secured a rack bar l5, and carried upon eachslidable Wedge is a pinion 22 enmeshed with the rack bar l5. Supportedin a guide 23 for vertical movement under the influence of gravity, whenthe bracing means is in its operative position, are a plurality of dogs3, 3B and 3|. These dogs engage between the teeth of the pinion 22, buttheir points are so located that they will engage at fractional parts ofthe spacing between teeth on the pinion, so that for each fractionaladvance of the pinion, upon downward movement of the wedge 20 or 20', anew dog will be engaged, and will prevent retrograde movement of thepinion and slidable wedge.

Each of the dogs is provided with a stop lug 32 which, upon raising thedog, will engage the lower end of the guide 23, and their upper ends atthe same time engage a flange 35 secured to the wedge, so that bylifting the dogs the guide 23 and the slidable wedge upon which it iscarried will likewise be raised. The dogs may be raised by means of afinger 4 pivotally carried at 40 upon the slidable wedge, and engageablebeneath projections 33 at the upper end of each dog, as best seen inFigure 3. Movement of the finger 4 is controlled by a chain 4i securedto an arm 42 carried upon a rock shaft 43. This rock shaft is preferablymounted upon the post I or I 0 above the upper limit of movement of theslidable wedge, and the chain 4! is of such length, with respect to theamount of permitted movement of the slidable wedge and the length of thearm 42, that the dogs will never be lifted within the normal range ofmovement of the slidable wedge. When it is desired to disengage the twobracing means, however, the rock shaft 43 may be oscillated, for exampleby means of a handle 44 upon the end of the rock shaft, which may thusbe adjacent the door 93 of the car, and upon the chain 4| being drawntaut the finger 4 is raised, raising all the dogs 3, 30 and 3| untiltheir lugs 32 engage the guide 23 and their ends engage the flange 35,whereupon the dogs are all disengaged from the pinion 22, and the entireslidable wedge is drawn upwardly. Preferably the handle 44 is weightedsuificiently that when released it will fall so that parts will returnto the position of Figure 2, and the dogs will be automaticallyreengaged.

By reason of the structure described the bracing means may be lightlyconstructed, consistent with the strength required, since no part isdependent for gravity in connection with holding the parts of the ladingapart, except the small dogs 3, 30 and 3|. These might be springoperated, but springs are liable to break, and it is preferred to avoidtheir use. In consequence it will be easy to lift each brace frame andto place it in the overhead rack when ready to unload the car, or afterthe first few cases have been removed. This overhead rack mayconveniently consist of longitudinal bars 5 connecting transverse bars50 to carry the bracing frame, consisting of the post I or 10 and thecross bars i2, the whole rack 5, 50 being slidably received upon tracks5! secured to the side walls 92 of the car. A chain 52, secured to aring 53 slidable along a longitudinal rack memher 5, secures eachbracing member to the overhead rack, and thereby makes the entire devicean integral part of the car, as otherwise it would be necessary, underregulations in force, to charge for the bracing means as cargo, whenshipping back the empty car, and, too, the bracing means might otherwisebe separated from the car and lost. The bracing members, afterdisengagement of the wedges, may be raised above the lading, and placedsection by section in the rack 5, 50, whereupon the rack carrying thebracing member may be slid along the track 5| until the rack and bracingmember are stored adjacent the ends of the car, leaving the center spaceclear and of unobstructed overhead clearance. To prevent the bracingmember from jumping out of the rack 5, 55 the rack may be provided atthe end distant from the door with a fixed hook 54, and at the inner endof the rack, adjacent the door, there may be provided a hook 55 (seeFigures 6 and 7) provided with a sleeve 58, so that the hook 55 mayswing about the rack member 50, the sleeve 56 and the rack member 50being provided with registering holes to receive a locking pin 51, sothat the hook 55, after the bracing member has been placed upon therack, may be swung up to overlie the end of the bracing member and'belocked in this position. By the provision of inwardly projecting shoes 6secured to the side wall 92 of the car and properly located to lie aboveeach section of the bracing member, when in its final stored position,it is made impossible for the bracing member to buckle and thus tocontact the roof of the car, or for any wedge mounted thereon to contactwith the roof 94, notwithstanding the limited clearance, and as will beevident, means may be provided to prevent lengthwise sliding of the rackv5, 56 from its final stored position.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members each of a heightto rest upon the floor and to extend substantially to the top of thelading, one of said members beingv adapted to' be placed against onepart of the lading, and the other member to be spaced from the first andplaced against another part of the lading which is spaced from the firstpart, and two pairs of cooperating wedges disposed between the two members, one wedge of one pair of wedges being fixed to a given member andthe other wedge of such pair being movable downwardly to hold themembers apart, and one wedge of the other pair being fixed to the othermember, and the cooperating wedge of this second pair being movabledownwardly to hold the members apart, the two pairs mutuallycounteracting any tendency of the wedges to move one member or the otherupwardly.

2. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members, each of a heightto rest upon the floor and to extend substantially to the top of thelading, each of said members being adapted to be placed, in spaced apartrelation, against spaced parts of the lading, a wedge inclined in onedirection fixed to one member, and a wedge inclined in the oppositedirection fixed to the opposite member, below the first-mentioned wedge,and two cooperating wedges each slidable on one of the fixed wedges andreacting against the member opposite, to force the members apart, and tomutually counteract any tendency to raise either member upwardly.

3. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members, each of a heightto rest upon the floor and to extend substantially to the top of thelading, each of said members being adapted to be placed, in spaced apartrelation, against spaced parts of the lading, a wedge inclined in onedirection fixed to one member, and a wedge inclined in the oppositedirection fixed to the opposite member, below the first-mentioned wedge,two cooperating wedges each slidable on one of the fixed wedges andreacting against the member opposite, to force the members apart, and tomutually counteract any tendency to raise either member upwardly, andmeans permitting downward movement of each slidable wedge, butpreventing upward movement thereof.

4. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,pairs of cooperating wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, one wedge whereof is under the influence of a constantly actingforce to move it downwardly, while the other is stationary, to exert aconstant forcing-apart action between the two members, regardless of thespacing between them, and means operable to prevent upward movement ofthe movable wedge, but permitting its downward movement.

5. Meansto brace case ladings, comprising two members, each of a heightto rest upon the fioor and to extend substantially to the top of thelading, one of said members being adapted to be placed against one partof the lading, and the other member to be spaced from the first andplaced against another part of the lading which is spaced from the firstpart, twocooperating wedge means disposed between the two members, andone of said wedge means being free to move downward by gravity, and theother being stationary, to exert a constant forcing-apart action betweensaid two members, regardless of the spacing between them, and a flangeon one of said wedge means engaging the side of the cooperating wedgemeans, to prevent sidewise relative displacement of the two cooperatingwedge means.

6. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,co-' operating pairs of wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, to exert a constant forcing-apart action between the twomembers regardless of the spacing between them, one of the cooperatingwedges of a pair being fixed to one member, and the other wedge of thepair being slidable vertically of the other member and of the fixedwedge, a rack fixed to the latter member, a pinion enmeshed with saidrack and car ried by the slidable wedge, and a dog carried by theslidable wedge and engageable with the pin ion to prevent upwardmovement of such wedge, but permitting its downward movement.

7. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,00- operating pairs of wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, to exert a constant forcing-apart action between the twomembers regardless of the spacing between them, one of the cooperatingwedges of a pair being fixed to one member, and the other wedge of thepair being slidable vertically of the other member and of the fixedwedge, a rack fixed to the latter member, a pinion enmeshed with saidrack and carried by the slidable wedge, and a plurality of dogs carriedby the slidable wedge, and engageable in succession, at fractionalintervals of the tooth spacing, with the pinion to prevent upwardmovement of such wedge, but permitting its downward movement.

8. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,cooperating pairs of wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, to exert a constant forcing-apart action between the twomembers regardless of the spacing between them, one of the cooperatingwedges of a pair being fixed to one member, and the other wedge of thepair being slidable vertically of the other member and of the fixedwedge, a rack fixed to the latter member, a pinion enmeshed with saidrack and carried by the slidable wedge, a dog carried by the slidablewedge and engageable with the pinion to prevent upward movement of suchwedge, but permitting its downward movement, and means operable from apoint distant from said dog, and operatively connected to said dog, tolift the same from engagement with the pinion.

9. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,cooperating pairs of wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, to exert a constant forcing-apart action between the twomembers regardless of the spacing between them, one of the cooperatingwedges of a pair being fixed to one member, and the other wedge of thepair being slidable vertically of the other member and of the fixedwedge, 21, rack fixed to the latter member, a pinion enmeshed with saidrack and carried by the slidable wedge, a dog carried by the slidablewedge and engageable with the pinion to prevent upward movement of suchwedge, but permitting its downward movement, and means operable from apoint distant from the dog, and operatively connected to thedog, to liftthe same from engagement with the pinion, said means being weighted toreturn to inoperative position, wherein the dog reengages the pinion.

10. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,cooperating pairs of wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, to exert a constant forcing-apart action between the twomembers regardless of the spacing between them, one of the cooperatingwedges of a pair being fixed to one member, and the other wedge of thepair being slidable vertically of the other member and of the fixedwedge, a rack fixed to the latter member, a pinion enmeshed with saidrack and carried by the slidable wedge, a plurality of dogs carried bythe slidable wedge, and engageable in succession, at fractionalintervals of the tooth spacing, with the pinion to prevent upwardmovement of such wedge, but permitting its downward movement, and asingle means operable toraise all said dogs at once from engagement withthe pinion.

11. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,cooperating pairs of wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, to exert a constant forcing-apart action between the twomembers regardless of the spacing between them, one of the cooperatingwedges of a pair being fixed to one member, and the other wedge of thepair being slidable vertically of the other member and of the fixedwedge, a rack fixed to the latter member, a pinion enmeshed. with saidrack and carried by the slidable wedge, a plurality of dogs carried bythe slidable wedge, and engageable in succession, at fractionalintervals of the tooth spacing, with the pinion to prevent upwardmovement of such wedge but permitting its downward movement, a rockshaft and an arm thereon disposed on the lading-engaging member, abovethe slidable wedge, a finger pivotally mounted on the slidable wedge,and engageable with all said dogs to lift them out of engagement withthe pinion, and a flexible tension member connecting said arm and fingerto lift the latter, and the dogs, upon oscillation of the rock shaft,said flexible member being of such length, with respect to the length ofthe arm and the travel of the slidable wedge, that it will not be pulledtaut during normal downward travel of the slidable wedge.

12. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to restupon the fioor, extending upwardly therefrom, in spaced apart relation,in contact with spaced parts of the lading, two wedges oppositelyinclined, one disposed above the other and each fixed to a difierent oneof said members, two complemental wedges, each slidably engaged with oneof the fixed wedges and with the opposite member, and movable downwardlyby gravity to hold the members in spaced apart relation, and by theiropposite inclination to counteract any tendency for either member torise from the floor, ratchet means preventing upward movement of eachslidabl wedge, but permitting independent downward movement of each, andindependent means, each operable at a distance from the correspondingratchet means, for releasing each of the latter.

13. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to restupon the fioor, extending upwardly therefrom, in spaced apart relation,in contact with spaced parts of the lading, two wedges oppositelyinclined, one disposed above the other and each fixed to a different oneof said members, two complemental wedges, each slidably engaged with oneof the fixed wedges and with the opposite member, and movable downwardlyby gravity to hold the members in spaced apart relation, and by theiropposite inclination to counteract any tendency for either member torise from the floor, a rack disposed adjacent each slidable wedge, apinion carried by each such wedge and enmeshed with said rack, aplurality of dogs carrieclby each slidable wedge, and engageable insuccession, at fractional intervals of the tooth spacing, with thepinion to prevent upward movement of the wedge, but permitting itsdownward movement, and means common to all the dogs of any given wedge,but independent of other wedges, to lift the dogs from engagement withthe pinion, and to raise the wedge.

14. Means to brace case ladings, comprising two members adapted to beplaced, in spaced apart relation, against spaced parts of the lading,pairs of cooperating wedges disposed and reacting between the twomembers, one wedge whereof is slidable downwardly under the influence ofgravity, while the other is stationary, to exert a constantforcing-apart action between the two members, regardless of the spacingbetween them, guide means interengageable between the slidable wedge andthe corresponding member, to prevent separation thereof by movementother than vertical, and means operable to prevent upward movement ofthe slidable wedge, but permitting its downward movement.

HERBERT SCI-IROEDER.

